Why Newcastle United Reaching The Champions League Is A Big Deal

Newcastle United might have become the richest soccer club in the world in December 2021 when Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund led a takeover of the club, but only now can they say they are back in the big-time.

Newcastle’s draw with Leicester City on Monday means they have qualified for the Champions League with a game to spare, with a resurgent Liverpool unable to catch them.

The wealth of their owners means some won’t be impressed by Newcastle’s top-four finish this season, but it takes more than money in the bank to go from the worst side in the league to one of the best in the space of 18 months.

When Manchester City were taken over by mega-rich owners from Abu Dhabi in 2008, the team were already mid-table, not in the relegation zone like Newcastle. City went from 9th under their previous owner to 10th under Abu Dhabi’s ownership. The next season they finished 5th, before finally breaking the top four in 2010-11.

Newcastle started from a lower base than City, staring down the barrel of relegation rather than already in the top half. Not only that, but the big clubs in the Premier League are even bigger now and financial fair play rules make it impossible for clubs outside the Champions League to spend their way to the top.

Outside the so-called “big-six” teams, the only side since 2006 to qualify for the Champions League is Leicester City.

The pull of the Champions League also makes it hard for the rest to attract the very top players, meaning mid-table clubs can end up spending a fortune on average players without moving up the league. Everton’s recent spending is a prime example of this, but they are just one of many clubs who can’t spend as much as they’d like.

Newcastle showed their ambitions last summer by signing Alexander Isak for around $75 million, but six other players have been signed by Premier League clubs this season for equivalent or higher fees. Newcastle’s next most expensive signings, Anthony Gordon and Sven Botman don’t even make the top 15 most expensive Premier League signings this season.

Their squad overall is valued at between seventh and tenth in the league depending on the source and the team as a business didn’t even make Forbes’ top 20 richest soccer teams, coming behind the likes of Everton, Leeds United and Aston Villa. Yes, Newcastle have spent a lot, but they haven’t spent their way into the top four, far from it.

Pep Guardiola will inevitably win the Manager of the Season award, for taking Manchester City from first in the league to first in the league after adding the world’s best striker to his squad. But in terms of overachieving what was expected, there are several other contenders, including Fulham’s Marco Silva and Brighton and Hove Albion’s Roberto De Zerbi. Breaking the top-four is much tougher than finishing mid-table though, and Newcastle’s head coach Eddie Howe deserves more credit for managing just that.

Champions League soccer brings extra revenues from broadcast rights and prize money as well as extra matchday revenue. It will also allow Newcastle United to increase their commercial revenue.

It’s been reported this week that Newcastle will agree a shirt sponsorship deal with a company linked to the Saudi Public Investment Fund that owns the club. Premier League rules mean this deal can’t be above market value, but as the deal is now for sponsorship of a Champions League club, the size of the deal can be much larger than for a non-Champions League side.

Champions League soccer means Newcastle will be able to attract another level of top players this summer, competing in the transfer market with the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal rather than signing “the best of the rest.” While Newcastle are unlikely to make too many flashy signings like Neymar, they will be ruthless with culling any players that aren’t up to standard. Chris Wood, for example, was signed at great expense in 2022 to keep Newcastle up but has already been offloaded to Nottingham Forest.

At the same time, Newcastle will have to build a squad that can handle the extra number of fixtures that come with playing in the Champions League. The Magpies got relatively lucky with injuries this season, allowing them to play a settled squad. While their total number of injuries was quite high, most long-term injuries hit back-up players rather than their starting eleven, and while strikers Isak and Callum Wilson both picked up injuries, their injuries didn’t overlap.

Newcastle will need to enlarge their squad while also levelling up. It is also unlikely that they’ll have the same luck with injuries so Howe’s man-management skills will be tested even further next season.

Finishing in the top four was a huge achievement this season, but it will take time before they can expect regular appearances in the Champions League. Even after a heavy summer of spending this summer, a top-four finish is by no means guaranteed next year.